2011 Top Advisor Rankings: Nebraska

Ranked #1: Ron Carson ♦ Ron Carson would have you know he's neither a bull nor a bear, but a realist. "We look at what's in front of us and react to it," says the advisor. He worries about the "easy money" that the Federal Reserve is creating through low interest rates. Still, he insists, "for the short term you need to participate in this Ponzi scheme. There is some free money to be had." There are opportunities globally, he says, in stock sectors such as food production and mobile telephony. In the long term, be believes, things will end badly in the U.S. Carson, 46, learned caution from his parents, farmers who "got caught on the wrong side" of commodity-futures bets. "It burned in me, to know that investing and handling money is really exciting, but really dangerous," he says. Carson gets his excitement elsewhere, like flying his own jet. This summer, he plans to climb four Colorado peaks in a day. He says the endurance needed is much like that needed for the markets. -Hilary Johnson